1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a wheel cover in which a fixing mechanism of fixing the wheel cover to a disk wheel of an automobile is formed integrally with a wheel cover body.
2. Related Art
Generally, a related structure shown in FIG. 6 is known for mounting a wheel cover onto a disk wheel of an automobile. In more detail, the wheel cover 1 is made of synthetic resin. Engagement claws 3 (in the figure, only one claw is shown) formed integrally with a cover body 2 of the wheel cover 1 are disposed at plural positions in the circumferential direction at the outer periphery of the back side of the cover body 2. Metallic wire rings 4 are disposed at the radially inner side of the engagement claws 3 in order to prevent the engagement claws 3 from being deformed inwardly in the radial direction. An engagement convex part 3a of the engagement claw 3 is engaged with a concave part 6a of a rim 6 of the disk wheel 5.
However, the related structure is at a disadvantage in that, since the structure is composed of the synthetic resinous wheel cover 1 and the metallic wire rings 4, and they need to be sorted out from each other when recycled, the related structure is inferior in recyclability, and, since the metallic wire ring 4 is a necessary component, weight saving is difficult.
The present invention has been made in consideration of the foregoing, and an object of the present invention is to provide a wheel cover capable of improving recyclability and, in addition, realizing weight saving.
In order to achieve the object, the wheel cover comprising:
a cover body made of synthetic resin disposed on a disk wheel of an vehicle to cover a side face of the disk wheel;
a plurality of elastic deformable fixing pieces formed integrally with the cover body engaged with a rim of the disk wheel;
a plurality of engagement portions provided with the plurality of fixing pieces, respectively; and
a plurality of engagement parts formed integrally with the cover body for keeping the plurality of fixing pieces bent by engagement with the plurality of engagement portions.
In the above construction, preferably, the engagement portion forms an engagement hole, the engagement part forms an engagement member to be inserted into the engagement hole. A large diameter part having a diameter larger than a diameter of the engagement hole is formed at an end of the engagement member. The engagement portion is formed at an intermediate part of the fixing piece. An intermediate part of the fixing piece is formed thinner than the other part of the fixing piece. The plurality of fixing pieces and the plurality of engagement parts are formed on a face of the cover body opposed to the side face of the disk wheel.
In the above-mentioned structure, when the wheel cover is mounted onto the disk wheel, each front end of the fixing pieces is first engaged with the rim of the disk wheel in such a way as to allow the cover body to cover the side face of the disk wheel. Thereafter, the cover body is pressed against the disk wheel, so that each engagement part of the cover body is engaged with the corresponding engagement portion of the fixing piece. This engagement enables the fixing piece to be kept bent. At this time, the front end of each fixing piece presses against the rim because of the elastic force of the fixing piece. The pressing force allows the disk wheel to hold the wheel cover. In this case, since each fixing piece is kept bent because of the engagement with the engagement part, the wheel cover can maintain the state of being fixed to the disk wheel without using other members such as wire rings.
Additionally, since each fixing piece and each engagement part that are the fixing mechanism of the wheel cover are formed integrally with the cover body made of synthetic resin, and all of the wheel cover is made of synthetic resin, recyclability can be improved. Additionally, since other members, such as wire rings, are not needed, weight saving can be realized.